What I Ate Wednesday #120: Spicy & Smoky

Friends, if you have yet to try a barre class, get with the program! Better yet, if you’re in the Oakland area, join me at Truve for Teresa’s class! My 2-for-Tuesday line-up of Suspension Sculpt [TRX] followed by barre hurts so good. Teresa is also my comic relief in the morning. And sometimes we pretend that we’re ballerinas.

It’s good times.. promise. That said, my abs and hammies are on fire today! It’s the real deal.

Backtracking a day, Monday was a pretty normal day of eats but delicious, nonetheless.

[Breakfast]

It’s so hard for me to not make more nut butters as I run out, but it’s less to move. I’m almost down to 1 jar! The horror!

[Lunch]

I’m always much happier to bring my own salads to work for lunch than to go buy something. I’ve been on a serious kale kick lately. I massaged the kale with balsamic vinegar, a little EVOO, whole grain dijon, and a pinch of salt. It’s awesome. And Trader Joe’s chicken sausages have been making my life easier. They’re already cooked so I just slice one up real quick and we’re good to go!

[Afternoon Snack]

Over the weekend, I made Lindsay’s gluten-free cranberry white chocolate chip pumpkin bars and it was delicious broken up over some Greek yogurt.

[Dinner]

Dinner was a new one—chicken bacon fra diavolo with potato noodles. It was totally different from our usual dinner fare and quite tasty. Don’t fret.. the recipe will be up tomorrow 😉

[Evening Snack]
I decided to save you from the picture of my cottage cheese and apple. It’s not the prettiest sight you’d ever see but it’s a delicious combo!

And now? It’s back to packing! Happy hump day!

Food for Thought

What’s your favorite class at the gym you’ve taken?

Link Love #14

Congrats to the giveaway winner, Lauren! Please email me at Brittany@BarrAndTable.com with your mailing address to claim your prize!

Now it’s time for some more link love.. the internet is a wonderful place, yes? 🙂

Health

4 Reasons Your Gluten-Free Diet is Keeping You Miserable – Sarah Kay Hoffman

4 Reasons Your Gluten-Free Diet is Keeping You Miserable – Sarah Kay Hoffman
I Need Five Wake Up Calls Daily – Olive to Run
One Thing at a Time – Wellness Today
I Got Six-Pack Abs in Six Weeks. Here’s How I Feel One Year Later. – Derek Flanzraich via Greatist
10 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Results in the Gym – FitKnitChick

Fitness

Work It Out: 15 Minutes Is All It Takes – Sprint 2 the Table

Work It Out: 15 Minutes Is All It Takes – Sprint 2 the Table
Swing It WOD – Blonde Ponytail
5 Workouts to Help Increase Speed – Tina Reale
Slow Ascent Workout: Negatives In November – Lifting Revolution

Food

Creamy Eggplant & Caramelized Onion Dip – Minimalist Baker

Creamy Eggplant & Caramelized Onion Dip – Minimalist Baker
Toasted Brazil & Coconut Butter – The Smart Kitchen
Brussels Sprout & Sunchoke Salad – Love & Lemons
Quinoa, Kale, and Bacon Stuffed Butternut Squash – Rachel Cooks
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lentil Blondies – Ambitious Kitchen

Food for Thought

What was your favorite post from the past week?

Five Things Friday

It’s Friday!! We made it! And now all we have to do is make it through today and then it’s time for the weekend. Ahhhhh 🙂

1. Thank you all so much for all your wonderful comments on yesterday’s post. I was a bit nervous to hit publish as I’ve not really had any personal posts on my blog yet, but I do plan on keeping it up after seeing the response.
2. On my walk to work, I pass a breakfast place and can sometimes get a little whiff of some bacon, pancakes, and waffles. Nine times outta ten it doesn’t phase me but man, I could have gone for a plate of bacon this morning!
   

   Thick cut. Only thick cut will do.

   And speaking of bacon, we went over to the Fells Point Farmers’ Market a couple weeks ago so Nathan could try the famous BLT from Peter’s Inn and I’m pretty sure there was at least half of a pig on the sandwich. If you like a good BLT, this is place to get it! But go early because they sell out! Nathan got the very last one!

3. I can’t believe we’re already halfway through another round of Best Body Bootcamp! It always flies by so quickly and this time is no different. And this week has been awesome.. I cut 6 minutes off of my time for Monday’s workout and 5 minutes off of my time for today’s workout! I can’t wait to do the fitness test again on Sunday and see if I’ve improved.
   

   Monday’s workout

   

   Friday’s workout

4. The weather this week has been outrageously beautiful! I can’t believe it’s in the 80s in October! I definitely took advantage of dresses, skirts, and sandals this week.
5. And speaking of the weather, we’re supposed to have a perfect weekend. They’re calling for upper 80s which sounds wonderful to me and just in time for the Fells Point Festival! We’ve never been and I’m hoping to make it over there at some point during the weekend.

Food for Thought

Do you have any big plans for the weekend?

What I Ate Wednesday #21 – The Last Anniversary

*Have you entered my Tropical Traditions coconut oil giveaway yet? It ends tomorrow and a winner is announced on Friday!*

Well, it’s not really the last anniversary, but last Thursday was our last dating anniversary until we get married! We celebrated 9 long wonderful years of dating, and while people really don’t celebrate their dating anniversary after they get married, I think we’re going to have to do something for the big 1-0!

I had some fun with my food so I couldn’t wait to share it with you today! Happy WIAW!

[Breakfast]
In the midst of my dark chocolate cherry protein pancake obsession, but to make it anniversary special, the future hubs and I made sure to cheers each other over a mimosa.

[Snack]
Blueberry greek yogurt. Yet another obsession of mine that I just can’t shake. It’s the perfect bit of sweetness and protein to get me through the morning.

[Lunch]
Salad with roasted pork tenderloin, tons of veggies, roasted red pepper sauce, and a little feta. Hey, I had to get a little fancy..

[Snack]
I’d been jonesing for a banana but seeing as how I was at work, the best I could do was a banana SOYJOY. I popped that baby in the microwave for 10 seconds and was in heaven! To my surprise, it really did satisfy my banana craving!

[Dinner]
A night out at Waterfront Kitchen was in order. We’d never been there but had heard so many good things about this new-ish farm-to-table restaurant in our hood. First question: wine or beer? We opted for beer and went straight to Unibroue! La Fin du Monde is one of our all time faves.

Looking at the menu, we immediately noticed that the dishes were not very complex. We’ve been to restaurants 100 times that have wowed us in their menu descriptions, so the simple preparation of these dishes was a nice change of pace.

As a light appetizer, we shared a warm brussel sprout salad with bacon, onion, and microgreens. It was so tasty and rich! I’m glad we split it.. I don’t know if I could have finished it on my own! What we could finish, however, was our first beer. Onto another Unibroue; next we tried Don de Dieu. This was a new one for us and we loved it, but not as much as La Fin Du Monde.

Nathan order the pork ribeye with wild mushrooms, heirloom peppers, farm fresh kale, and blackberry demi glace. I opted for the monkfish “osso bucco” with stewed cherry tomatoes, onion, sweet potato, and wilted Swiss chard. As I mentioned, the dishes seemed to have a simpler preparation which left it to execution. Spot. On. The dishes were flavorful and perfectly cooked. We couldn’t have asked for more enjoyable bites!

We finished our dinner with some coffee and the dessert special of the night: pumpkin cake with local butter pecan ice cream. Not too heavy and not too sweet; the perfect ending to a wonderful meal. (And a delicious halloween treat!)

Do you see Nathan ready to dive into dessert? 😉 Seems to always happen with dessert!

Food for Thought

Do you prefer to go out to dinner for special occasions or have a romantic meal at home?

We always go out for our anniversary but stay in for Valentine’s Day so we don’t have to deal with all of the craziness!

What I Ate Wednesday #6 – Heavy Seas Ale House

I love nothing more than trying new things.. especially when it comes to food! I’ve been mixing up my meals a bit this week and trying new easy recipes. I also got to try a new restaurant in Baltimore; Heavy Seas Ale House. The food was delicious and the drinks were even better! So let’s get to it, shall we?!

Breakfast

Perfect morning quinoa with blueberries & almonds and a Bombshell Spell. All directly from the lovely Tone It Up Nutrition Plan!

Sensible Snack #1

1/2 grapefruit sprinkled with stevia. Alright, so not everything is getting mixed up this week, but what can I say? I’m a fan of the grapefruit!

Lunch

Summer shrimp salad.. another one from the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan. This is such a great meal for warm days! It’s so light and delicious and frankly, I’m a fan of topping anything with avocado!

Sensible Snack #2

GT’s Guava Goddess Kombucha is one of my absolute favorite drinks lately! If you have never heard of or tried Kombucha, get on it! And I would highly recommend the Guava Goddess, Gingerade, and Gingerberry flavors.

I was also so excited to try The Good Bean Chocolate Berry bar. These bars are full of fruit and no nuts! Typically I love almonds and cashews and other nuts in my bars, but this one replaces that crunchy texture with chick peas. So delicious and you really don’t miss the nut! (And how can you top dark chocolate and berries?!)

Dinner

We celebrated my parents’ 35th wedding anniversary at Heavy Seas Ale House. Nathan and I had only been there once before for drinks, but had been wanting to return and try the food; we’d heard so many good reviews!

Heavy Seas has become known for their beer cocktails. The first time we went there, I got the Gold Ale Cucumber Margarita. Holy yum!

“Heavy Seas Gold Ale”, resposado tequila, fresh lime juice, cucumber and house made golden ale syrup with a salted rim.

This time I had to try something new.. here we haveAny Port in the Storm. Again, holy yum!

Gosling’s Black Seal Rum, house made ginger syrup, lime juice, and “Heavy Seas Gold Ale”

We started out with 1/2 dozen raw Washington oysters. I’m not a big oyster fan, but I always try one when we get them. My parents loved them! I much preferred the Spicy Beer Nuts. I would definitely recommend them, but watch out.. they’re addicting and the spice builds!

Pecans tossed with sweet spices and “Marzen”

My mom and I both got the Crispy Rockfish Special over mussels and cockles, topped with zucchini, roasted corn, & bacon in a tomato broth. Delicious! I was happy to learn that crispy didn’t mean fried. It was cooked in a pan, skin on, so the skin was nice and crispy, but the fish was not at all oily.

We finished off with a lovely Flourless Chocolate Cake with bay leaf chantilly creme on a beautifully (and deliciously!) decorated plate. And to our surprise, every table gets to end their meal with these wonderful homemade mini chocolate chip cookies with a touch of spice! I have to say, I think I preferred the cookie to the cake!

I will definitely be returning to Heavy Seas to try some more delicious food! I hear the burgers and oyster po boy sandwiches are out of this world, so I think next time we’ll be trying out their lunch dishes. Can’t wait to report in on that!

Speak Up!

What’s the best dish you’ve had a restaurant recently?